Prediction: Liverpool vs Flamengo

Prediction: Liverpool win

Best Odds: 8/15

Bookmaker: bet365

The Club World Cup is a fascinating competition and while many fans don’t like the fact that it takes place in the middle of December, and also in a country like Qatar this year, it’s still provided us with an awful lot of entertainment over the years – and that’s been especially true across the last few games of this year’s competition. Today, we’re going to take a look at the final which takes place this weekend between England’s Liverpool and Brazil’s Flamengo in Doha.

Liverpool

Liverpool are competing on several fronts this season but up to this point, they seem to be handling the pressure fairly well. The reigning Champions of Europe have certainly set their sights on winning the Premier League for the first time and that much is obvious, but they aren’t just going to drop all of the other competitions they’re involved in. They want that gold badge on their shirt to ensure they’re recognised as world champions, and as the favourites, they’ll feel a certain responsibility to live up to that.

Team News

Matip, Lovren, Fabinho and Clyne will all miss out here, with the expectation being that van Dijk could also be absent once again as a result of his recent illness. Wijnadlum is also a doubt following the semi-final.

Flamengo

Flamengo are well known for being one of the most famous clubs to originate from Brazil which, as we all know, is the nation that many credit with perfecting the beautiful game. Alas, while many fans may choose to believe that their lack of resources in comparison to the Reds could hurt them, they’ve still got quite a few game winners that are capable of producing the goods against literally any other team on the face of the planet. Whether or not they can pull it off against Liverpool, though, remains to be seen.

Team News

It’s a clean bill of health for Flamengo heading into the final with Filipe Luis and Barbosa being two of the players that Liverpool will be fearful of.

Factors to Consider

• Flamengo beat Al-Hilal 3-1 in their semi-final, whereas Liverpool beat Monterrey 2-1.
• Liverpool have won five and lost one of their last six games.
• Flamengo have won five and lost one of their last six games.
• Liverpool have scored 14 goals and conceded eight in their last six games.
• Flamengo have scored 18 goals and conceded five in their last six games.

Conclusion

The fast, attacking threat of Flamengo is going to cause Liverpool problems whether they want to admit that or they don’t. However, if they come forward with their strongest starting XI available to them, then we see no reason as to why they shouldn’t be able to get the job done. We’re expecting plenty of goals from both sides in what should be an incredibly entertaining final, and we wouldn’t be entirely surprised to see this one go beyond 90 minutes – but we’re still backing Liverpool to win.

Prediction: Liverpool win

Best Odds: 8/15

Bookmaker: bet365